Cocktails with Cynar
Cynar is a dark Italian bittersweet amaro built on artichoke leaves and an infusion of herbs. Despite the artichoke it does not taste explicitly vegetal; it works as a classic caramel-herbal bitter.
ABV16.5%A 35% version, Cynar 70, also exists, and it needs the ratios rethought.
Substitutes for Cynar
Artichoke bitterness is earthy in a way the caramel-led bottles are not, so a swap trades earth for sweetness. A couple of dashes of a woody or aromatic bitters over a darker one closes most of the gap.
Often confused with
A Sicilian amaro on herbs and citrus peel over a caramel base, so it is sweeter, rounder and stronger — 29% against Cynar’s 16.5%. The earthy artichoke edge is what a drink loses with it.
Campari
A red aperitivo bitter on citrus and gentian rather than artichoke leaf, and it is brighter and more bitter; it colors the drink red.
